Chicago Board of Ed. to hold special meeting as some try to blame CPS CEO for Acero school closings

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Santiago Elementary is one of seven Acero Chicago Charter schools slated to close at the end of the school year.

While the charter operator made the decision over a month ago, opposition to the closures has been aimed at Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez.

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"Leadership with Chicago Public Schools has to have a contingency plan as this kind of trend unfolds, and right now, we have not seen that type of leadership," said Mayor Brandon Johnson.

Johnson, his Chicago City Council allies and the Chicago Teachers Union also say Martinez has failed to look into alleged financial inconsistencies related the Acero network.

"He has had at least a month to ask for the financials of the network, and he still hasn't done it and it's unprecedented a charter network would announce closing without checking with CPS," said 25th Ward Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez.

While CPS grants and renews charters, the CEO does not have the authority to make decisions on charter closures. Some alderpersons say shifting the blame to Martinez is nothing more than a smoke screen.

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"I think all of this is a false pretext to fire Pedro Martinez. If it wasn't Acero, it would have been something else at some point down road," said 15th Ward Ald. Ray Lopez.

The mayor asked Martinez to resign because he refused to secure a short-term high interest loan to pay for a new teachers contract and pension payments. The mayor's first hand-picked school board resigned over the issue.

His current board must find cause to fire Martinez. Members have scheduled a special meeting on Thursday, but Tuesday, the mayor admitted Martinez did not do anything wrong related to the Acero closings.

"This is not about pointing the finger at someone doing something wrong. This is about how we course correct, so families don't lose out," Johnson said.

Thursday's special school board meeting begins at 3:30 p.m. It is unclear why the board is holding one since it held a meeting in November and there is another scheduled in December. The newly elected hybrid board is seated in January.